The IMWA is excited to announce Jennifer Gasner, the author of “My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis,” as our September 2023 Member of the Month! Please take a minute to read Jennifer’s interview with IMWA Board Member Janet Hafner.
1. How did you first discover the International Memoir Writers Association?
I was taking Marni Freedman and Tracy Jones’ Certificate in Memoir, and she promoted it.
2. Have you always been a writer?
Yes, I wrote really bad poetry when I was younger, and I’ve always enjoyed essay questions on exams, as opposed to multiple choice.
3. What impacts do you think writing classes have made on your writing?
In 2014, I took Marni’s Intro to Memoir at UCSD and continued with her Saturday Read and Critique at SDWI. I took a few years off and then did the Certificate program. That gave me tools for creating scenes, structure, and so much more. I was in Tracy Jones’ Read and Critique at SDWI. It has motivated and pushed me to go deeper into scenes and made me more comfortable having people read my writing and telling parts of my story I am uncomfortable with.
4. We’d love to hear about what you are presently writing.
Lots of blog posts.
5. Who are your favorite authors? Favorite memoirs?
“Not My Father’s Son” by Alan Cumming, “The Sound of Gravel” by Ruth Wariner, “Boy Erased” by Garrard Conley, “Maid” by Stephanie Laird, and “Easy Beauty” by Chloe Cooper Jones.
6. Any advice for new writers?
Just keep writing even if you think it doesn’t seem important. Good things can come from confusion. Don’t be afraid to revisit things that you feel you’ve edited a lot—there is always more to say.
7. Jennifer, please tell us about your book and your launch and what you’ve learned about the process.
“My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis” is about my journey from fear to acceptance after being diagnosed with a rare, progressive neuromuscular disease at seventeen in 1990. It includes scenes of discrimination in employment, when my disability was invisible, and later when I started to use mobility aids. But it also includes scenes of me being a girl, obsessed with music and romance, and discovering disability isn’t a bad word.
My book just launched on September 7. I’m excited to be featured at a Weekends with Locals event at Warwick’s on September 24, at 2:30 p.m.
8. Please let us know how we can reach you. Website? Social channels?
Jennifer’s Facebook: Facebook.com/AuthorJenniferGasner
Jennifer’s Instagram: Instagram.com/jennygwriter
Website: JenniferGasner.com
